The Future of Advertising: Baseball Style

Last weekend, under the surprisingly cool Central Texas summer night, I attended the Round Rock Express baseball night. The game was incredibly one-sided with Round Rock smashing the ball all around the beautiful surroundings. The cheers from the Express faithful were frequent throughout the 10-2 victory.

Nyle Maxwell, a local Central Texas car dealer, was a big advertiser on this night. They didn’t just throw their name on the outfield wall and expect results. Instead, they took a chance.

Walking into the stadium, you’ve were surrounded by some finely-shined vehicles from Maxwell’s inventory. You couldn’t miss the vehicles. They were strategically placed right near the fan entrance. SUVs, pickups, mid-size cars all got some prime-time exposure from the passers-by. I saw quite a few glances at the ‘sticker’ and more than a few comments like: “Honey, what do you think about this one?”

As the game progressed, Maxwell continued into strategy to get its name/brand on your mind; Maxwell raffled away 4 cars during the course of the game despite the fact that these cars weren’t ‘gems’. Between innings, the cars (old beat-up conversion vans and pick-ups from the 80s) were driven on the field complete with characters from ‘Saved by the Bell ’ and ‘the Breakfast Club’. Great storytelling — not just blatant product placement.

The crowd laughed, cheered and had a blast as Maxwell received great exposure and established goodwill by giving away free stuff. And think: they could have just placed a newspaper or TV ad.